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BizBash Live

BizBash Live is the largest one-day gathering of event organizers held annually in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and South Florida. Attendees gain inspiration from the top names in events through the Event Innovation Forum, the Workshop Series, hundreds of exhibits, and more.

The scene at HBO's Entourage premiere party on July 19 was not dissimilar to the party thrown in the show's season opening episode, screened earlier in the evening to 1,000 guests at the Beacon Theatre. The five leads—Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Dillon, Kevin Connolly, and Jerry Ferrara—were the center of attention, buzzing around one other, with high fives, head locks, “Bro!” shout-outs, and whiskey shots abounding. Loads of models in tiny dresses hovered nearby, as did athletes, rappers, and reality stars. The main difference was that last week's party took place in New York, not Los Angeles, and the booze was real, not fake. And—spoiler alert—there was no fire.

Held at the American Museum of Natural History, the party celebrated the final season of the show and aimed to re-create a setting that could have been plucked right out of one of Entourage's ultra-luxe sets. “Our aim was to pay tribute to Entourage in an impactful way,“ said Michael McMorrow, HBO's vice president of event planning and production. “Given so many of the cast and producers hail from the Northeast, we thought it fitting to end where many of them started. It's also a lot of fun to bring a little Hollywood to New York.”

Also attended by Entourage “godfather” and executive producer Mark Wahlberg and show writer and executive producer Doug Ellin and their childhood friends, the evening was a veritable boys' night out, and the decor matched this vibe. McMorrow tapped Cara Kleinhaut of Caravents to produce, and she brought a masculine aesthetic to the room, which is dominated by the iconic whale hanging overhead. “The event was sexy, clubby, glamorous, a celebration where everyone gets V.I.P. service,” said Kleinhaut. “We used a masculine palette of black, white, and silver, with shimmer and sparkly textures on all linens, [and] non-floral details such as silver spheres and black lacquer bowls and trays.”

As with most parties depicted on Entourage, the event was not surprisingly capped with an after-party, this one held at new penthouse lounge PhD in the Dream Downtown.